Cooler for refrigerators



2 Sheets-Sheet l WILLARD A. GEBHARDT EDWIN LJ. RADTKE ATTORNEYS March l, 1955 w, A, GEBHARDT ETAL COLER FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed March 10, 1954 W. A. GEBHARDT ET AL COOLER FOR 'REFRIGERATORS March ll, 1955 lFiled March l0, 1954 zshetS-sheet 2 32 287 f sa" l.; \r3 f b .3l oo o oo opg@ ooo 3 37 n 25 3'/ oogoooooco@ /0 v3 l, ooo@ o 009390309@ f5. 35

7 @woo eazqo 76 se 2 L" -u l2 2+ 7 /7 ZZ 2/ INVENTORS WILLARD A. GEBHARDT EDWIN J.RADTKE ATTORNEYS full volumeof airfflowfpast juniform `temperaturefinto thefroom. o, Another lsalient object 'of vtheinveiition Lisftoprovide .an air conditioning unitincludingan elongated.:body "jhousing or s`hell` 'divided into` pallower .airpressurecham- Aber andfan upper.. airflow ladffdistrib 'z Ene b'ame'gplateas a 'water"'(condensat`ion) ilow asto "insure theWashingandl1nmrdiwing of th iras i" i This invention appertains broadlyto rfrigration, and I more part1cula'rly to .a novelair .conditioninggnnit .fjoruse 'in meat .coolers,.\ and (honing. rooms, .'etc., L andJis an improvementxon our fRatentNo; 2,132,985 issued .October`l`1,1938. y 'One of the `primary objectsofour present invention,

the entire length ofv the refrigeratingunit, whereby 'to insure the proper distribution loffcool. a1r at a, desired o tingchaltibergby a novelly disposed perforated baille plate; {vt/ith,` means .in-

sure chambenthefbaie .platefglbeingso ,l formed and .arranged 'that' the owof air therethrough willfbe "equal the; cooling .units throughout y cluding `a o motor .jdriven v:blower "for supplying lai'rat'fthe s j desired volume Vrateof.`.`flo w."'to one .end of Y the Jair pres- A further vobject of the invention isf fto..permi t thenxi-V i l obstructed ilowV of air "from ithe blower" 'tothe airjpressure .chamber audio disposethelalr .equalizing baille :plate at an angle ltofthefhorizon'taland afa/ gradual Tincline downward 'fromthe blower ltothe. .opposite end .fromfthe blower to insure the tlow of air throughy the.

the same passes through the openings in the baille plate and thereby ellectively preserve the color ofthe meat and to prevent excessive shrinkage in the meat.

Another further object of our invention, is to provide imperforate baille plates on the opposite sides of the cooling coils in spaced relation to the-side walls of the body housing and extending above the side walls, whereby to prevent the formation of ice and condensation on the side walls and to direct the cool air out above the side walls.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a top wall for the unit for directing the air outward in the nature of a pan for collecting water of condensation and to provide side inclined baille plates in connection therewith for either directing the cold humidied air up or down as may be desired in a particular installation.

Another still further important object of the invention is the provision of electric heater means associated with the unit at predetermined points, adapted to be brought into use at desired times for humidity control.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts as will be hereinafter more specifically described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through our improved cooler for refrigerating and like rooms, the section being taken on the line 1--1 of Figure 2, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of our unit, parts of the 2,703,223 Patented Marr .11,1955

ls fiegzll. being .shown broken away to illustrate 'structural det`""7 -Y f Fi'gilreA 3 is atra'nsverse;sectional, view-through L'the unit taken onthedine se-esef'Fignrei, ylookinginthe direc- ".io'n of'vthearrowsfand showing the arrangementiof'the cooler units and side, v baille plates, Vand vflier'-ffrom the blower. l i h Referring fto the drawingsin detail, wherein similar reference characters Jdesig'nate corresponding. parts throughout the several "views, .the v-le'tter` -U generally indicates jthe' complete' unit Tand the: saine includesI an Vouter l This body 'parts of theunit vas will be later broughtv out. If desired angle `iron 'framejmembers 11 can be secured to the walls "7;andj9 under thellanges10 to add additional strength 25 i andrigidity `to thei u`ni t. Arranged within thegbody housing adjacent to theend wall, 8 is ai'transversejpartition `12,-which preferably eX- `)tends abovekthe side walls 7 ,i and this 'partition in Vcon- "junction with jthe fend wall :8 forms, a` 'compartment '13. Arranged within the compartment 13 is ythe blower 14 and 'its electric idrive motor 15. .The 'armature shaft/I6 0f the motor is 'directly connected "to the shaft ofthe `fan .17 ofthe blower. 'jthej Qutletl throatl 35 f In Aaccordance with -our lmprovements, u 18 of .'theblower opens out `straight .throughfthe partitionV plate 1 2,`for.a purpose which will also .laterfa'ppear and '-it is to 'be noted ithat this throat is unobstructed.l

Arranged within fthe 4body `housing "5 is a perforated '-ai'r; equalizing -Abaillepla'te 19.. This' baille vplateextends lfrom onesidewall'7 to' the otherand isrigidly secured to l.these 4.wallsf b y fwe1ding-or the like, l .'b'e 'formedffromstainless `steel, if so desired. As best "shownjinFigure .'1, the fbaille plate extends from `the jpartition'wall'lZ toward the`end wall"9 and the baille 45.

fjvidje afdrainv sink 20. The plate ,19` has its -endjustad- "jacentito'the wal'l'9 bent down-into engagement with the "gfbott'om wallj'6 of the body Jhousing ILto form' Van vend -wall l21,fand'.IhisWendjwall isjprovided with drain openings 22 5which'cofnn'run'icette' with'the drain' sin'k 20. The end and the plate can 'plate `fterminatesslightly.short of 'this end wall ,9 to proof the wall 19, which is adjacent to the partition wall 12, is bent up and secured to this partition directly above the outlet throat 18 of the blower, The arrangement of the baille plate 19 is such as to form a lower pressure chamber 23 and an upper air ilow and distributing chamber 24. One of the important features of the present invention, is the'fact that we incline the baille plate 19 downwardly from the blower toward the end wall 9, and this feature will be later discussed.

Arranged within the upper air llow and distributing chamber 24 are the finned cooling coils 25, and these coils extend from one end of the chamber to the other. The coils are provided with inlet and outlet headers Z6 and 27 with which inlet and outlet pipes communicate for permitting the circulation of the refrigerating liquid through the coils. The cooling coils are arranged above the perforated equalizing baille 19 and the coils extend the full length of this plate. The cooling coils 25 can be held in the chamber 24 in any desired manner, and in the present showing upper and lower channel clamp bars 28 and 29 are provided, and these bars are held together on the coils by vertical tie rods 30. The top channel bars 28 constitute the supporting means for the cooling coils and these bars extend beyond the walls 7 of the body housing 5 and are secured to the side walls by brackets 31. These brackets are bolted or otherwise secured to the llanges 10 on the side walls 7.

Forming the top of the unit is a top wall deilector plate 32 and this plate can be in the nature of a pan for the collection of water of condensation. The deilection plate is held in proper spaced relation to the coils 25 and the side walls 7 by means of inverted U-shaped brackets 33, which extend transversely across the unit with the lower ends thereof secured to the flanges 11 of the side walls.

In use of the unit, the same is secured in place at the proper point to the ceiling of a chill or cold room, by suspension hangers (not shown), and as condensation collects in the unit, the same drips from the coils onto the baille plate 19. Air llowing through the openings in the baille plate 19 from the pressure chamber 23 into the chamber 24 is washed and humidified by the water. Surplus water flows down the inclined baflle plate 19 into the sink 20, and a drain pipe 34 can be provided for carrying this surplus water off to a sewer. If desired, an additional drain pipe (not shown) can be provided for the chamber 23 adjacent to the wall 21.

In conjunction with the top deflector plate 32 we utilize side wall deilector or baille plates 35. These side wall deflector or baille plates 35 are secured to the upper surface of the baille plate 19 and extend from the partition 12 to the end wall 9 in slightly spaced relation to the side walls 7 of the body housing. Combination insulator and spacer strips 36 are disposed between the lower ends of the deilector or side baflle plates 35 and the upper end of the baille plates extend above the upper edges of the walls of the body housing. The side plates 35 not only direct the air upwardly and then outwardly, but also form a space between the chamber 24 and the side walls 7 to prevent the frosting up of these side walls' 7 and the accumulation of moisture thereon.

Longitudinally extending outwardly angled louvers 37 are also provided, and as shown in Figures 3 and 4, these louvers are directed upwardly and outwardly and are se-l cured to the flanges on the side walls 7. These louvers are used to direct the air upwardly and against the ceiling of a room Where it is again distributed and deflected downwardly. If so desired, and as suggested in dotted lines in Figure 3, down louvers 38 can be provided and these louvers can be carried by the longitudinal side edges of the top dellector plate 32. In this instance, the louvers 38 direct the air downward.

Now considering that the unit is properly positioned in the room with the blower 14 functioning; then the air from the blower enters straight into the pressure chamber 23 and due to the inclination of the baille plate 19, the air strikes the lower surface of the baille plate and is directed through the openings into the baille plate, into the chamber 24 past the coils 25 and out of the sides of the unit. As the chamber 23 decreases in size toward the end wall 9, the air is gradually restricted as the same flows toward the end wall 9, and this restriction eliminates undesired air eddies and dead spots, and insures the upward ow of the air through the perforations and actually the flow of air is equal throughout the entire length of the baille plate 19.

Electricheating elements 39 of a desired type can be placed on opposite sides of the unit in the air stream to regulate humidity and these heaters can be turned off and on as desired. The heaters can be bolted or otherwise fastened to the anges 10 of the side walls 7. The heating elements 39 are of great importance, in that under certain conditions an excessive amount of moisture is present in the air. By utilizing the heaters, the air is somewhat dried and lightened to permit the free circulation thereof and the depositing of the moisture on the cooling coils.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention, but what is claimed as new is:

l. An air conditioning and cooling unit for chill and like rooms comprising an elongated body housing having a bottom wall, spaced parallel side walls and end Walls, a transverse partition in said body housing arranged adjacent to one end Wall, an air equalizing and distributing baille plate disposed in the housing extending from one side wall to the other and from the partition toward the remote end wall defining in said housing a lower pressure chamber and an upper air distributing chamber, said baille plate being provided with perforations, a motor driven blower in said housing on the opposite side of the partition from the baille plate having a straight outlet throat opening into the pressure chamber, said baille plate also including an end wall engaging the bottom wall of the housing in spaced relation to an adjacent end wall and defining a water collection sink, a discharge pipe communicating with the sink, cooling coils Within the upper chamber, a top deector plate carried by the housing in spaced relation to the upper edges of the side walls and disposed above the cooling coils, and outwardly angled baille plates disposed on opposite sides of the housing and cooling coils.

2. An air conditioning and cooling unit as defined in claim 1, and said air distributing baille plate being inclined downwardly from the partition plate toward the opposite end of the housing.

3. An air conditioning and cooling unit as defined in claim 1, and electric heaters disposed between the top plate and the sides of the housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

